Orienteering

A couple of weeks ago at the Wild Connections Festival in Dunkeld one of my children tried out the mini-orienteering course they had set up, well we all tried it out! A lady from Tayside Orienteers phoned the other night to invite her along to an event at Kinnoull Hill and Woodland Park in Perth today, so off we went today on a cold but beautiful day. There seemed to be a good turn out of people, both beginners and the experts. I mentioned before in a previous blog that Kinnoull has permanent orienteering markers. There is now an initiative called Woodland Challenge with four areas with permanent markers, the one at Kinnoull, one at St Magdalene's Hill, also in Perth, one at The Hermitage Dunkeld and one at The Knock of Crieff.

There are lots of different routes Trail, Discovery and Challenge, we tried out an easy Trail route
and we all really enjoyed finding the markers using the map, great to get youngsters out for a walk!, don't see any reason why we won't do it again. You can get more information about the maps available etc from Tayside Orienteers.

Red Squirrels

Came back today after a couple of days away up in Aviemore. I was very fortunate to get up close to get these pictures of Red Squirrels which are quite a common sight in the Highlands as the habitat is ideal for them. In Perthshire we also have red squirrels and I have been lucky to even have had them in my garden but I've not been quick enough to get a photo. I have two feeders up to help encourage them. There is a Perth and Kinross Red Squirrel group which may be of interest to you.

Rally of Scotland

Seeing as The Rally of Scotland had a 'stage' in the forests next to the Hermitage, it seemed a shame not to stay and watch, so we did. Not very easy taking photos/videos of fast moving cars!

Autumnal colours at The Hermitage

On the way back from Logierait I decided to call in at The Hermitage to see the glorious autumn leave colours and the magnificent waterfalls. It was extremely busy around there today partly due to a stage of The Rally of Scotland being held, so it was a stroke of luck we were there early enough to get parked no problem.

Logierait Country Market

Finally got the chance to go over to Logierait for one of their monthly markets which I mentioned in a past blog, it was a very busy market with lots of local produce, crafts etc. I bought some pork and black pudding sausages to try out on my guests! There was also a stall called Handcrafted Herbals that are based here in Blairgowrie.

Pictures of Dunkeld

Just a few random pictures taken around Dunkeld today. It is always a popular place to visit with the cathedral, the river and all the charming National Trust properties.

Local Produce

There was a couple of local produce stalls at 'The Wild Gathering' and the opportunity to look around the local smokehouse. I was pleased to finally meet Mr Bush from Summer Harvest Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil, as we only communicate via e-mail or twitter. I started using the oil this year and it is extremely versatile, definitely recommend using.

The owner from Dunkeld Smoked Salmon gave us a guided tour of how salmon was smoked. Had a chat with him and the smokehouse are great ambassadors for local produce.

It was nice to see Tunstalls organic bakery, they are always a very popular stall at all the local markets, superb bread etc. I think our local farm shop stocks their bread as well.

Wild Connections

Today was the launch of the Highland Perthshire Wildlife Festival 9th-17th October in Dunkeld with 'The Wild Gathering'. The festival is all about learning about wildlife, getting into the great outdoors and learning about gathering your own wild food. There were lots of market stalls and plenty activities to keep the younger members amused. We even tried our hand on a mini orienteering course, it was great fun. As you know I am interested in 'wild' food, so picked up some interesting information.

Kinnoull Hill, Woodland Park, Perth

Today I had the opportunity to take a walk up Kinnoull Hill in Perth. It is a very popular walking area with stunning views when you reach the top. There are plenty of pretty easy waymarked walks through the oak and pine woodlands. The paths and tracks extend to over 45km and there are some permanent orienteering courses in the woodlands and geocaches as well. You could combine the walks with a visit to Perth itself and there are buses into Perth every hour from Blairgowrie to save you taking your car in. For more information about Kinnoull Hill, see this link and this link. Unfortunately I didn't have time to visit the arboretum today, but I shall and will tell you all about it!!

Fingask Loch

Took the reasonably short walk over to Fingask Loch today and enjoyed all manner of wild birds. I also took some videos which you can view on you tube. I particularly enjoyed watching the family of Great Crested Grebes which are at the top.

Down by the River Ericht

Back in September 2009 I posted some pictures of the River Ericht after some heavy rain taken down by the bridge. As we have had quite a bit of rain in the last week I took some pictures further upstream. Unfortunately I couldn't get a good picture from Cargill's Leap as part of the viewing platform has been damaged by a falling tree, so it is blocked off. They have been improving the paths and cutting back some trees and have also built an attractive stone walled seating area to view the river from.